Legacy tech is blocking UK government’s AI plans, says watchdog

Promises of transformation are ‘for the birds’

Legacy tech and skills shortages are standing in the way of the government’s attempt to adopt AI, the Public Accounts Committee has warned.

While the Labour government has talked a big game on artificial intelligence, including revealing an ambitious plan for the technology in January, the public spending regulator has warned that legacy technology – like an endangered frog squatting in the middle of a building site – is slowing any moves.

According to the PAC, 21 out of the 72 highest-risk government systems – about 30% – still lack the remediation funding promised in the government’s 2022-2025 Roadmap for Digital and Data, which was published under Boris Johnson.

In addition, government data is “too often” of poor quality and locked away in legacy IT systems. About 28% of government systems were defined as legacy – meaning "an end-of-life product, out of support from the supplier, [and] impossible to update” - as of last year.

Transparency in AI use is lacking, as is the supply chain. The PAC notes that “the government’s approach to procurement...risks over-reliance on the services of specific companies, and an inability to adapt.”

And, of course, the skills gap – which affects all sectors of UK IT – gets a mention. “Longstanding and persistent digital skills shortages” stand in the way of the safe and effective adoption of AI in government, with 70% of departments reporting difficult in recruiting and retaining staff with AI skills.

The PAC is now calling for a senior digital officer to be “embedded at the top table with senior management in every department.” The public sector has recently lost several digital leaders, including Richard Corbridge at the Department for Work and Pensions and John Quinn from NHS England.

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, chair of the PAC, said:

“The Government has said it wants to mainline AI into the veins of the nation, but our report raises questions over whether the public sector is ready for such a procedure.

“The ambition to harness the potential of one of the most significant technological developments of modern times is of course to be welcomed. Unfortunately, those familiar with our Committee’s past scrutiny of the government’s frankly sclerotic digital architecture will know that any promises of sudden transformation are for the birds.”